The first Cahill Hunger Games
by 1kat2kit
Summary: Laura's not sure what President Green means when they announce the Hunger Games. Whats going on? She keeps asking herself. But when the first Reaping rolls around and Laura's name is chosen, she's going to need every ounce of her Ekaterina blood to make it out alive. Can she, even when the other boy tributes seem to get even more irrisistable then she remebers.
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

I don't understand what they mean.

"A new treaty has been passed"

The rebellion just ended, the Capitol won, don't we have enough to worry about, another treaty.

"Every year from now to the rest of time there will be a Hunger Games, each branch will offer up two tribute girls and two tribute boys to fight to the death. They will be reaped in a public ceremony, for every boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18. As they grow older their name will be entered in more times. This is punishment for the Rebellion, also a tesseare can be additional times entered into the bowl in return for oil and grain to feed ones family. The tributes will be escorted to the capitol and train in the art of defense, only one will come out alive, these games will be broadcasted on T.V. and will be mandatory to watch, the first Reaping is on June 3rd, may the odds be ever in your Favor." President Green concludes.

I hear mummers around me, hushed whispers, and small cries of disagreement, one girl begins to cry. What do they mean a fight to the death, only one will come out alive? I'm trained to know these situations and asses them accordingly, to find the most logical solution, but nothing happens.

I turn to my mother whose face is as white as chalk; her hands grasp Sophie's tightly.

"Mom" I ask in a hushed whisper. "I'm 13"

She continues staring off into space her mind distant and far, her only link to Ekaterina is Sophie's hand.

"What's happening?" Sophie asks pulling away for a moment to look mother in the eye. "Sissy, what's going to happen to us?" I wish I could answer her question, but for one of the first times in my life I couldn't answer a question she asked me.

I sit at home still confused, they'd explain it at school I know they would, they would have too, why wouldn't they. I still thought about it I wouldn't forget it. May was nearly upon us and I still had a couple years left of school. What if I was chosen, how would Sophie make it?

"Laura you should go to sleep you have school tomorrow" Mom called like nothing had happened that day. I guess this was how she forgot, pretended it never happened.

"Okay mom" I said tinkering with my new electronic, five ways, 18 colors, and seven ring clock I had made before setting the alarm and laying down.

School didn't explain much, they just had us enter our names and age, and our names printed out on small slips of paper. My name was printed out twice and a sign-up sheet was posted.

"This is for Tesseare sign-up, if your family needs food sign your name on here and the number of tesseare you need" Our teacher explained.

School is usually my favorite place to be, with all the advanced classes, they trained us for the science and electronics we would send to the Capitol. That's what the Ekaterina's gave the capitol, just like the Tomas were Transportation and goods, Janus were art and textiles, Madrigal were food like grain and fruit, Lucian were sea-food and lumber. We all contributed, and they depended on us.

"Now class today we will be studying the Treaty of Treason in replacement of your normal classes" Our teacher shouted. I heard several shouts of protests including my own but we all sat down and listened as our teacher explained how most likely one of our deaths was going to happen.


	2. Before the Reaping

**Thanks to all you awesome people who reviewed (only one person did). Here is the next part as promised. **

_June 3__rd__, 96__th__ Cahill year 9:32a.m._

The day is finally here. My name is only entered twice thankfully since Mother runs the bakery with Father.

"You look great sweetie pie" Mother charms, her frizzy red hair pulled messily up into a twist.

"I don't feel great mom, some little kid's going to get their death sentence today and it could be me!" I shout.

"I don't know what you're worried about; compared to the other children in the "Bend" your chances of being picked are like 1 in a million"

"2 in 42,693 or 1 in 85,386" I correct, silently brushing a lock of auburn hair out of my eyes.

"Would you like me to braid your hair" Mother asked in a slightly calmer voice trying to change the subject smoothly and without conflict.

"Sure" I said as non-descript like I could manage.

Sophie being only 10 didn't have to worry about the Hunger Games; she stood silently watching mother braid my hair from the doorway still in her night gown, her light curly blonde hair a mess still.

I stood up after mother had finished and brushed some dust off a white blouse and pink skirt, some of the nicest clothes mother could manage to find that hadn't been eaten up by moths, or stained brown from dust.

"You look pretty birdie" Sophie said using her nickname for me.

"And you look dreadful" I said giggling. She made a "humph" sound and cross's her arms. "I'm joking" I say plainly "your hairs just a mess."

She sticks her tongue out and runs back toward the kitchen.

Dad wasn't sure if he should open the bakery today so he just pulled a switch on the neon sign and it lit up and said "Open" in curly green and blue letters. Several kids came in to trade some meat and berries for loaves of bread and pastries.

"Your very welcome Atticus" Dad says handing two loafs of bread to a tall skinny kid with lanky black hair. By the looks of him I think he's about 15. Dad turns to look in my direction.

"Oh sweetie you look beautiful!" Dad exclaims

"I don't feel beautiful" I retort "But thank you" I say remembering my manners.

"You are beautiful, and I see your mother found some nice clothes"

"Yes, I guess she did" I say looking down at myself.

"Here, I saved this just for you" Dad says excitedly reaching behind his counter and pulling out a delectable looking treat, a circular piece of dough that is glazed over and is drizzled with powdered sugar.

"Oh thank you daddy" I exclaim hugging him. I hadn't had a doughnut in forever.

"My treat to my little girl, good luck today"

"I don't think luck has anything to do with it" I say before sinking my teeth into the fluffy batter. "It all is odds and ratios"

"Yep, I knew I had an Ekaterina daughter, you just seem to be getting smarter and smarter every day" he praises.

"Thanks for the doughnut" I say licking my lips and fingers after finishing the amazing treat.

"You're welcome" I look into his eyes and every time he looks at me I see sorrow, and pain. Maybe to him the odds aren't in my favor.


	3. The girl tributes

I walk to the town square by myself. Mother, Father, and Sophie were going to be coming down right before the reaping.

Since we own the bakery we live pretty close to the town square. I don't have to walk far till I see glimpses of huge electronic screens, and full camera crews.

When I arrive at the town square I see huge T.V's screens with the symbol of Cahill, a large "C" with a black background. Below the screen a podium stands, tall and alone, behind it four chairs sit.

In the first chair our Mayor, in the second an old wise man who teaches the 16 year olds at school, in the third a middle aged woman who teaches the 18 year olds. I don't know why they're here, it doesn't make much sense, but sitting in the fourth chair is a woman with a bright yellow wig with curls, her face covered in white powder with bright yellow eye shadow and big eyelashes. Her clothes are silky and flow with every step and are the same color as her hair.

20 minutes pass and the anthem of Cahill plays and the symbol and the screen begins to enlarge. A video full of fire and destruction plays explaining why we have the hunger games and how they help keep the peace.

When the video finishes I notice the woman in yellow is crying, I shoot her a weird glance but I don't think she can see me from the cloud of children.

"I just think that is beautiful" The woman in yellow says walking towards the podium in extremely high heels that I'm surprised she can even walk in.

"Welcome to the 1st annual Hunger Games my name is Julia Lonne and I will be the escort for this year's Tributes, I will pick two boys and two girls from each bowl and they will be sent off with me towards the capitol" Julia says smiling her big happy capitol smile, too bad hers isn't fake like ours.

"Now ladies first" she smiles again and with perfect balance struts over to the large glass bowl with our names in it and pulls one out, and again with amazing balance walks over to the podium.

I hold my breath for a second as she announces the name of our first female tribute.

"Leah Noble" I recognized the face instantly and soon the name, she was one of the 17 year olds who volunteered at the wind farm where I spent my mandatory volunteer hours.

I watched her as she quickly walked foreword, no emotion so far, but as she passed the 15 year olds her brother jumped out and quickly held onto her.

"No sissy no they can't take you, leave her be, she's my sister, leave her be!" the boy screamed and I recognized him as Atticus the boy who bought the bread this morning.

Several peacekeepers dragged him away and Leah continued walking toward the podium.

"Come come now don't be afraid, I'm guessing that was your brother" Julia said smiling and nudging Leah's shoulder, but she remained still. I knew, with one look at Leah's face she was absolutely terrified.

"Now for the second girl tribute" Julia said rushing things along "Let's see here, um…..Laura White" Julia called looking out into the crowd of children.

I could feel my heart start to go on over drive, beating a million beats per second, my legs went all numb, and I felt as if I had just been pushed off of one of the wind turbines and was tumbling into the grainy golden fields below. Someone save me. Please.


	4. The boy tributes

**The Boy Tributes**

Everyone turns in my direction; I can tell I'm pale. I hear sobs coming from where the adults are standing, its mother, I know it is. I can hear father trying to calm her but she pushes away.

I start walking toward the space in-between the boys and the girls. Peacekeepers now knowing who I am start pushing me along faster and faster. Until we reach the stage I turn to look at where Atticus was but he's not there anymore, the peacekeepers must have taken him away.

"Ahh…there you are dear, come on" Julia says taking my hand and pulling me up onto the stage. I swear I've never in my life seen nails that long or that sharp ever before.

Standing on the stage I can see everyone, even Sophie crying her eyes out into mother's skirt. I can see father, his grey beard dotted with tears. Then I see mother crying hysterically, her face stained red. I really was going to miss her.

"Now for the boys" Julia says eager to continue. She digs her hand into the boys bowl and picks the first slip her fingers can get a grip on. The anxiousness in the crowd is clearly visible, you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet, everyone holding their breath, hoping and praying that they wouldn't hear their name.

"Daniel Corndon" I can instantly tell who it is by how quickly heads turn to where he's standing. Then the pale expression on his face and then fear makes its appearance.

He walks quickly up to the stage trying to hide the tears and the fear registering.

I think he's 14, most boys in Ekaterina start cutting their hair in the same style after they turn 14.

He stands to the right side of me, and I'm wedged in between Leah and him, I can tell I'm at least 5 inches smaller than both of them.

Julia is clearly ready to end this thing, and probably feels that it's dragged on too long. "And our final tribute boy is William Loggman" Julia concludes.

I recognize the name and face even faster than Leah's. William Loggman is in my class, and is my next door neighbor.

"Our tributes from Ekaterina for the 1st annual Hunger Games, Leah Noble, Laura White, Daniel Corndon, and William Loggman!" She shouts.

Why of all people does it have to be him?

**Sorry it's so short, creative juices aren't flowing very well. It's only one word document page. **


	5. Goodbyes

**This Chapter will be longer than the rest because I'm going to put a lot more thought into it. Starling Lover would you mind giving me a name, doesn't have you be your real name, just a name, I'm having trouble with tribute name ideas. Anyone else that reads this please review, this is the only story I've posted that's actually gotten reviews so I like it, please post, I do love constructive criticism. **

I'm in a room at the mayor's office. Thick luxurious carpets cover the floor and a large dirty window looks out towards where I just received my death sentence. The peacekeepers dragged me in here practically, my legs weren't working very, they felt like thick heavy lumps of concrete walking through deep mud.

I dig my finger nails into the wood of the window sill, white scratch marks soon become visible where I dug my fingers in and they look like white blood dripping down the wood.

I hear the door open frantically and Sophie rushes into my arms, I can feel her tears soak through my blouse and she hugs me tightly.

"Why do you have to go, can't somebody else go?" she asks. I don't think she understands fully what had just occurred and was thinking I was going to leave forever.

"Sophie listen to me….are you listening?" I ask and she nods her head frantically. Her curls bobbing up and down like one of the toy motor boats I made her when she was little. "no matter what you see on that T.V screen you have to keep strong, soon you'll be running the bakery all by yourself, let mommy and daddy teach you and don't pay attention to these games okay" I say keeping my voice as steady as I can. She nods her head again. "This goes to you too, don't let her see what's going to happen on that screen" I say turning toward my parents who are standing the corner of the room holding each other.

"But what about you birdie?" Sophie asks "Why won't you run the bakery with me?" I should have expected this question to come, but I don't know how I can tell her that I won't be coming home, that I will die in that arena.

"Sophie, you're strong enough on your own, no matter what happens to me, just think about it, if I do get home you can come and live in a big house with mom, dad, and I. We'll be one big happy family, do you understand?" I say trying my best to keep my voice from cracking.

"Yes, Papa has something for you" Sophie says backing away towards the corner where mother now stands alone, Dad already having moved forward with a small handkerchief in his hand.

"They say you can bring one token from you district into the arena" He chokes on the words "I made this the other day, I was going to give it to you for your birthday, but that might get a bit difficult" He says thrusting the cloth into my hands. "I love you sweetie, Leah will take care of you, I promise" He cries before hugging me for a long time.

"I will love you forever and ever mom" I whisper in her ear as she silently approaches me and embraces my skinny figure in her arms.

"I love you to Laura, and don't you ever forget it" She whispers right back through muffled sobs. The loud opening of a door interrupts our goodbyes.

"Time to go" A large muscled Peacekeeper says pointing towards the exit and opening the door.

"Stay strong Sophie" I scream as she's pulled away crying. "I always loved you" I say but she's gone and I'm all alone in this fancy room, with the guilt that Sophie has the hope that I'm coming home. She should know better, she's an Ekaterina; lies are something I wish I never had to tell.

**I know I promised a slightly longer chapter, and you'll get one for the next chapter on the train ride, I'm going to do the entire train ride in one Chapter and make sure it's very detailed. **


	6. The train ride

**Here is the train ride as promised. Thank you Starlinglover for the names, I'll make sure too use them later on. This chapters a long one, and sorry to all you readers for the delay, I was on vacation. **

The peacekeepers come to collect me after my parents have left. They each grab one of my arms and practically carry me through the hallway of the justice building.

"Did you know I'm perfectly capable of walking myself?" I point out surprised that I can still make my witty comments. The peacekeepers look at each other for a minute before letting me walk myself.

They push open the rusty hinged heavy wooden doors and follow me outside and show me the way into a car. As soon as I'm sitting next to Julia I cross my arms and realize I'm about to be bombarded with a bunch of insults from her about how horribly bland and plain our clothes are and how boring we look.

"Well that was certainly interesting" Julia points out smiling that grin again. "Well come on, what did you think of it, speak up" She plea's not used to being ignored but we all stare off toward either the ground or getting our last glimpses of Ekaterina. "Oh I see how it is, you're all too excited about going to the capitol that you don't know what to say" She concludes, even though that is the exact opposite of what I'm thinking of.

"No it's not what we are thinking" I turn to see Daniel screaming at Julia "We're all being sent off towards our deaths here, being taken away from our family's by force and sent into a death match where we'll probably not come out alive of! I have a little sister you know, her name's Amelia, she's only two and when she grows up she's going to wonder what happened to her older brother that she has pictures of and mysteriously disappeared one day!" He shouts tears welling up in his eyes "I'm never going to get to see her grow up, or graduate school, or get married, and I'll never meet her children all because I was thrust into these stupid games and I died in them!" He concludes sobbing now.

Julia obviously stunned stays quiet for awhile.

"Excuse me sir?" I ask directed toward the driver. "But what is this car powered on?"

"Gas" He says plainly like it was an obvious answer.

"You should use solar power, it must cost a lot less than gas, and it reduces your environmental impact, plus gas is a fossil fuel once it's gone it's gone" I say pointing out the highlights of the wonders of solar power. Leah joins in and continues talking about solar power.

When we arrive at the train station I can tell the driver is eager to get as far away as possible from Leah and I and was probably bored to death by our vast knowledge on just that one subject.

Julia herds us all into the sleek silver train and once we're all inside we're shown our rooms.

I immediately shove my face into my pillow and cry. I continue thinking about all that has happened since these games have started, and all I can think about is Sophie.

Julia calls for dinner by knocking rapidly on my door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" I call back irritated and sit up from the soft feather bed and wipe a spare tear from my eye.

Once we are all sitting down and staring with grey gloomy eyes at the table covered with food, trying to hide our surprise and delight with the display Julia introduces the two teachers.

"This" She points out the older man "is the mentor for William and Daniel, he will help you survive, send you sponsor gifts and will train you, his name is Ren Monds" I know Daniel recognizes him and shakes hands immediately. He probably was a teacher's assistant for him. "Ren, this is William" She says pointing towards William. "And this is Daniel" She concludes holding onto the back of Daniels chair.

"I'd prefer to be called Dan" Daniel whispers to Ren who nods.

"Girls, this is Molly Anderson, she'll be your mentor" She smiles revealing a piece of chicken stuck in her teeth. I smile at the thought of this but stay quiet. "Molly this is Laura and Leah" She points to each one of us.

"Hello girls" Molly says in a sweet musical voice "I'm looking forward to working with you" She motions for Ren to say something but he's busy twiddling his thumbs, noticing the attention that is on him he quickly stops and says "It is nice to meet you too" Molly looks pleased, she was probably teaching him this while we were all in our rooms.

We continue eating in silence, saving our energy to eat. An assortment of pastries and meats varying from chicken to rib-eye-steak, large heaping bowls of dinner rolls are arranged on the table and lots of fruit, some of them I don't think I've seen before.

Leah I notice is eating very slow and pushing around the fish on her plate. I turn to look directly at her but she begins sobbing, it's more of out of control sobbing.

"I can't do this" she sobs using the table cloth to wipe her eyes. "Atticus needs me, what did they do to him?" She cries again "Why!" She screams standing up before collapsing on the floor.

We all stare in silence before I stand up and help her back to her feet and guide her to another carriage with thick carpets, several couches and a T.V. She calms down rather quickly despite the predicament and curls up on the couch. Everyone it seems has followed us back here and sits down on one of the couches.

"What a great idea!" squeals Julia "We'll all watch the Reaping's to see who our competition is" She smiles brightly like she just had the best idea in the world. So we all watch the rest of the poor souls get reaped.

**From Tomas**

I notice that they all volunteered and are all strong and fit. The girls shoot up their hand as fast as anyone from Ekaterina and shout the reply to the lady in the purple. The girls I also notice are beautiful with fair skin that has a slight tan and shiny beautiful hair.

The boys however are very strong and you could see their muscles right through the shirt, the both shout in booming voice "I volunteer" I know to stay away from these tributes.

**From Lucian **

The girls their both have pretty sandy blonde hair and sea green eyes, same as the boys but they also all volunteer as the Reaping progresses.

The sky there is an eerie grey, and I can tell because of the filter of grey washed over all of their expensive clothing and rich hands.

**From Ekaterina**

I watch the whole thing over again, as if I didn't see it enough already in my head. Atticus jumping for his sister, myself a cowering dog with my tail in between my legs, Daniel and his strait forward walk, and William slowly inching forward and I notice he has a tear coming from his eye.

**From Janus **

The girls here have pretty red hair, as descendants from Jane and one girl named Jane gets picked. They all step forward slowly peacekeepers pushing them along, no one volunteers for the 12 year old named Jane.

The boys are all tiny and nimble looking with long fingers and bright eyes the ones always longing for music. I feel bad for all of them.

**From Madrigal**

The poorest of all the branches, all the tributes from here are small, skinny, and under-fed. They probably all took tesseare, and I see one girl volunteer for a younger sibling, but fear registers on her face as fast as her sister. Her name is Mia Treed.

I quickly turn the T.V. off and curl up in a small ball on the red leather couch that I'm sitting on. So many people all in the same arena, in probability sense based not on the skill of all of the tributes but by how many, my chance is 1 to 20. But based on the skill level, I'd just have to wait for the training.

Leah turns to me and leans against my small figure. She's stopped crying but is silent and still as she takes in all the tributes.

"Hello" Molly calls timidly "Can I talk to you girls privately?" She asks. Leah sits up and looks at me, we both nod slowly and I notice William and Daniel are chatting quietly amongst themselves.

Leah and I stand up together and walk out with Molly who leads us into her room.

"Now that we're alone I can openly discuss your training" Molly says, I notice her tone of voice has changed now that she is doing what she does best, teaching. "I haven't been in the games like the mentors are supposed to be but I can give you some helpful hints. I will also want to talk to each of you privately, about your individual approach on the games."

"So what are you hints?" Leah asks

"One: don't show off to the stronger districts too much, especially during training, you can try and see if you're good with a weapon, and if you are leave immediately and go to a new station" Molly points outs

"Two: Don't forget to go to the survival station; they're even more important than the weaponry"

"Three: This relates to one, don't show off your skills, save them for the gamemakers"

"But..?" Leah begins

"Don't question me" Molly threatens "I'm sorry for raising my voice; I know how hard this must be for you guys. Four: While you're in the arena do not eat any plants unless you're 100% sure about them being edible" She takes a sip from a tea cup on the table before continuing

"Do not make a fire at night, that's a good way to get yourself killed, if you are to make a fire make it at dawn or dusk" she takes a deep breath "Lastly while you're in the arena, run away from the cornucopia, sure you can grab a couple of items that are close to you but stay away and run; run to find water and high ground, it's a bloodbath out there" She concludes taking her tea cup and finishing it off.

"Leah, can I now talk to you privately?" Molly asks. Leah stands up slightly trembling and walks into another room leaving me. Alone.

About 35 minutes later Leah walks back out and whispers to me that it's my turn. I stand up, and walk into the room noticing it's Molly's bedroom area. White sheets cover the bed like a new blanket of snow, the floor is a soft hard wood, probably cork, and the window is open with thick heavy purple curtains hanging.

Molly motions for me to sit down in a chair in front of her. I sit and observe the room as Molly watches me, taking in every little detail as if I'm her cake and she's getting ready to decorate me, or in our case tell me how to survive.

"You're a tricky one" She says out of nowhere.

"I'm a what?" I ask confused

"A trickier one, I have a couple idea's but nothing seems to work out right" She explains

"Okay" I say slightly getting what she's saying

"After training there will be an interview, you've been told about this in school I suppose?"

I nod

"Everyone needs an angle to focus on during it, to grab the audience's attention, to get sponsor's, you've also heard of these I'm guessing, these people give you things that will help you survive, and I will be in charge of everything that the people give to you"

"Yes, I've heard about that" I say more confidently this time.

"I'm thinking by how young you are to go with a sweet innocent little girl, I catches them every time when you smile, and you have that youthful twinkle in your eyes. That's how we are going to get you sponsors" Molly smiles happy with her work. "You'll need something that someone remembers you by, I've seen the way William looks at you, and how surprised you were when he was chosen, you'd be perfect together" She smiles even brighter this time

"What!" I scream exasperated "I'm not in _love _him"

"Well he is" she says bluntly "and that's what I was whispering to Ren when you first walked in, and that's what he's going to be teaching William. You don't have to go along with the lovey-dovey thing until you get to the arena, but William is supposed to be dropping hints as he goes"

"No, I won't do it" I say "I'm only 13; mother won't even let me have a boyfriend yet!"

"But I say you can, and right now I over power your mom because I'm trying to keep you alive" Molly argues. "Sorry" she says quietly right after "I shouldn't have raised my voice"

"It's okay, so what is my arena strategy?" I question

"Do you have good aim?" She inquires and I nod "You can climb right?"

We continue talking for the next 15 minutes before Molly dismisses me for bed saying that we'll reach the capitol by mid-morning and I need to look my best.

"You're starting to sound like Julia" I say amused

"I guess she's rubbing off on me"

I reach my room a couple minutes later and collapse on the bed, I do take a minute to change out of my night clothes and brush my hair, my mother says it was a trait passed down to me from one of my relatives a long time ago, named Sinead. That's my middle name though Laura Sinead White. Mother thought it had a nice ring to it.

I burrow under the covers and begin thinking about how Cahill was created. Father told this story when I was helping him late one night in the bakery a couple of months ago right after the Treaty of Treason was passed.

"_Once a long long time ago there were five branches of a family, this family was the most powerful family in the world, each branch was started by a child of Geedon" _Father said the name of the father was lost in time "_The five children's names were Katherine, Jane, Luke, Madeline and Thomas. Their father was best friends with a man named Damien Vesper; now the Vespers were evil men who knew of the power Geedon had possessed while looking for a cure to a deadly disease. After learning the power of this serum Geedon gave each one of his children part of the serum giving them excelled abilities. Katherine gained intelligence, Jane achieved musical and artistic abilities, Luke gained stealth violence and secrecy, Thomas gained athletic abilities, and finally Madeline who was born after the serum was distributed had no special power but strove for peace among her siblings. _

_After the serum was delivered to the children their father died in a mysterious fire that was set by Damien, the children not knowing of this dangerous man blamed each other and fought, soon they all left their little island leaving their mother to grieve with her un-born child. Many years past and the branches were once again united, but they had to deal with a new problem, the Vespers. Many people died and this land that was once known as Amerrocia was plunged into darkness and war between the two families. The Cahill's won but the branches were somewhat separated again. Someone by the name of Mr. Sole stepped up and promised to lead the new nation, years passed and many people became suspicious of all our presidents being Vespers, no proof was ever found though and this started a rebellion, the last president was killed and his advisor stepped up claiming he had a solution to our fighting" _

That's where the story ended, and I guess his solution was the Hunger Games, but what puzzled me the most was the thought that our president could be a Vesper. They sounded so evil, how could they be leading Cahill. These questions slowly tired my brain and I drifted off into a sleep full of evil presidents, and fighting.

That morning Julia woke me up with a rapid fire of knocking and screaming at my door.

"Laura get up!" she was screaming repeatedly and I sit up unsteadily before moaning and falling back down on my pillow only to be screamed at more. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and screamed

"I'm coming!" At the door. Finally her screams stopped.

I dress in a light blue tunic that was laid out over a chair with some leggings and a head band. For the first time I remember the handkerchief father pushed into my hands. I carefully retrieve it from the pocket of my skirt and un-wrap the white cloth. It's a necklace with a dragon cut out of wood hanging from the black cord. The symbol of our branch. I swiftly put it on and walk out of the room brushing my hair calmly and quietly, Julia standing surprised that apparently I could do anything by myself.

Everyone is sitting at the breakfast table eating pastries with jam and butter on them. I help myself to one of the confections and begin nibbling on it. Suddenly all the windows turn black as night as we travel through the mountain range that leads to the Capitol.

"Ohhh….we're arriving early" Julia squeals in that ridiculous capitol accent. Everyone moves to the black windows in hopes of seeing the capitol. The front windows fill with light and like dominoes toppling over all the windows become illuminated with the bright shiny light of the capitol.

"We're here" I hear William whisper under his breath.


	7. Chariot parade

**Due to it being summer I am postponing "Don't let time repeat itself" and "My life in the Ekaterina Stronghold" I'm just too busy to keep them all up and running right. Here is the next chapter and thank you for the names everyone, I really appreciated them. R&R PLEASE! Oh ya, I forgot to mention that I could use arena ideas, after I get a few I'm going to post it as a poll on my profile. PM only please. **

"_I'm going to die, I'm going to die" _I scream in my head as yet another patch of my skin is ripped from my naked body. I didn't think the games were going to start so early.

"Oh, you look so pretty now!" Castella squeals. I am surprised by this reaction because when I arrived, I could tell by her expression, that she was horrified by the way I looked. But I think I was more horrified by her mouse like features. Grey skin, whiskers coming from her nose, big large luminous eyes, a long grey furry tail, and mouse ears. They scrub my raw skin until I'm tender and pink, a turkey that's just been plucked.

The green skinned Apollo, and sparkly blue skinned Flavia chatter amongst them, their overly long eyelashes are almost touching.

"Luna isn't it?" Flavia asks in an even more ridiculous capitol accent, while she brushes my red hair.

"Laura" I correct.

"Oh? Laura, your stylist will be coming in soon" She beams before leaving.

A door on the opposite side of the room opens and a man with grayish hair, dark blue eyes, and tattoo's running up and down his arms steps out. Feeling nervous that I'm naked I shrink into a small ball, but as he walks forwards I realize he's holding a lavish robe. His tattooed hands hold it out to me and I clutch the supple fabric. Pulling on the bathrobe I stand up and tie the strap around my waist. He escorts me toward the room he just walked out of.

I sit down on a black leather couch and the man; I can only presume is my stylist, sits across from me.

"My name is Hali" He pronounces. "It means from the sea"

"I know that" I spat at him.

"This attitude of yours isn't going to get you anywhere in the games, but we can make it work, especially if you keep up this brain of yours and this" he waves his arms motioning to all of me.

"Huh?"

"Keep being you, just drop the attitude"

"Okay, so what are you supposed to do?"

"I am creating the outfits you wear for the parade and the interview"

"Okay, so how does this affect me in the games?" I question, my friend Helen swears I should have been a Lucian.

"My outfits help you make an impression, if you are remembered you get sponsors, sponsors equal surviving" He concludes yelling now. "I'm sorry, now let's have a chat about your costume" He smiles, I'm not sure if it's an evil smile or a smile that I have mastered, the smile of pure genius. Or both.

I'm in the chariot with William, and I couldn't dread it any more than I do. But at the same time I feel excited to be next to him, but I keep telling myself to not let myself get attracted to his sandy brown hair, or his bright intelligent blue eyes.

"You ready?" he asks brushing invisible lint off of his white suit.

"I don't know" I murmur.

Molly walks up to me; she's wearing a pretty red dress that the capitol provided her. "Do what you do best" she says helpfully "Stay cute and innocent, smile and wave, if possible hold hands with William" She smiles at the last part knowing how much whenever someone mentions "William and I" it gets under my skin like a sickly parasite.

The chariots start moving and suddenly the dark room that we were in fills with light as we move through the grand golden doors that have opened and out into the long road and on the sides of that road a kaleidoscope of colors from the capitol people's clothing. The anthem of Cahill is blaring over speakers but the capitol people's cheers over power it so you could barely hear it.

Tomas goes first, Hannah Wyoming and Max Alexander in shiny silver costumes I can only assume is made of metal, most likely light weight aluminum. Two bright lights are on the shoulders; most likely these are representing the head lights of a train or car.

The next Tomas chariot comes by and Madison Kons and Michel Freed are smiling and waving while staring dreamily at each other. They are dressed in sparkly, bright, intimidating costumes. Madison is wearing a pretty white dress with cascading jewels moving down the side. Michel is wearing a bright white feathered head piece and a suit.

Lucian goes by second and I see their costumes on the big screens, the girl with her sleek black hair and bright amber eyes. The boy looks similar and I can vaguely remember their names. Blair Lee and Kevin Rowl I think. Because the chariot costumes are supposed to represent their district they are both in blue. Blair is wearing a long dark blue dress that flairs out near the bottom. There is a light blue almost see through fabric draping on top of the blue that is covered in sparkles and fish. Kevin is wearing a full body suit with the same fish design on it. The capitol cheers as the girl blows kisses and the boy stands strong and tall.

The other chariot from Lucian comes by and the girl, Ana Ness with her dark brown hair comes by with Ryan Dayne. They're dressed as roman warriors with golden breast plates and red pants or a skirt.

I stare at the screen again as I see silvery white horses with metal reins and a silvery chariot. Then I catch a glimpse of myself in the screen. My auburn hair pulled back and curled, jewels near my eyes, and the most amazing costume I have ever seen. I'm wearing a delicate white dress that flares out near my feet and matching mini-heels. A windmill top headpiece that's about 48 inches long is behind my head making me appear to look like a windmill as it turns slowly, the wind from the movement of the chariot pushing it along. William is in a similar costume just with pants and a shirt.

Cheers from the crowd fill my ears until they're almost bursting, roses are being tossed out to us and people are waving and blowing kisses. Remembering my angle for the games I smile shyly and wave a bit. William follows in suit and soon hundreds of roses, lilies, marigolds, and all assortments of flowers litter the bottom of our chariot.

Leah and Daniel come right after us in a bright yellow carriage with bits of electricity surging through the panels on the side. They're holding each other's hands dreamily and not paying any attention to the screaming crowd of strangely dressed people. Their costumes sizzled and flashed in an assortment of lighting and sparks of electricity. Daniel kisses Leah's cheek lightly and over the announcement's that announce the tributes ages and names I hear that Daniel is actually 15 not 14.

The Janus chariot rolls along the street, the tributes are dusted in a grey powder. They are wearing togas and they appear to be statues. The last Janus chariot goes down and they are dressed in weird colorful outfits.

The last chariots roll by for madrigal. I see Mia along with David Smith. Mia is wearing a blue plaid dress and David is wearing overalls. The last chariot of the day comes by and Daisy Hoon and Marco West come by. Daisy is wearing a beautiful dress with green, whites, pinks, and blues. It's layered beautifully and looks like a meadow. Small daisy flowers tie her blonde hair back and the sleeves drape over her shoulders. Marco is wearing a toga like thing with the same pattern and material.

All the chariots roll up to the end of the road and watch as President Green walks toward the podium. His slivery hair reflecting the stadium lights that line the entire area. But as he starts his annual speech his voice sounds too familiar and I can't help but think about the story dad told me that night, about the suspicions.

"-And happy Hunger Games" President Green finishes. Yes happy Hunger Games, it is happy because I am going to die at the hands of someone I am sure is a Vesper, even though I don't know who they are. And that's what scares me the most.

**Sorry for the long delay, just got back from hopefully my last vacation this summer so I can keep updating. R&R thanks!**


	8. Training Days

**Go Starling Lover, my only reviewer. Here comes the training, all 3 days of it, what's inside, a surprising alliance, a new group, drama, and some unexpected surprise's and feelings. **

_June 4__th__, 93__rd__ Cahill year: Night of the Parade. _

I walk to the elevator to get to the Ekaterina room on the 4th floor of the building. All the floors are equal to the district 'importance' or order. The training room is on the first floor, Tomas is the 2nd floor, Lucian 3rd, Ekaterina 4th and so on.

The doors about to close and Blair Lee from Lucian rushes in I hold the door open for her and she frantically presses the 3rd floor button and it lights up.

This is the first time I've seen her up close, her amber eyes gleam like a raccoon in the dim light of the elevator and her shiny black hair is pulled neatly back into a pony not a single hair out of place, I sure wish I could do that with my mop of red hair. She's older than me; at least 16 or 17, 18 at the most. Her muscles are well toned and can easily be identified, even though I could recite the scientific name for each of them in a heartbeat, she could do the most damage with them, including killing someone, maybe me.

I'm relieved when we reach her floor and she's gone. Leaning against the aluminum railing of the glass elevator I watch the numbers slowly climb. 3…4…., but the elevator doesn't stop I see that the number four is lit up. The elevator continues to go up until it stops somewhere between floors 5 and 6. I scream for a moment and almost start crying, but this is my specialty.

I pull the emergency kit from the wall and am grateful when I find out it has a basic set of screwdrivers, some electrical tape, and some water and food. I snatch the screwdrivers and the electrical tape and begin working my magic on the control panel. After pulling off the panel I start working on the jumble of colorful wires.

15 minutes later the elevator is working again and I'm back in our room and sitting at the dinner table with my stylists, Molly, Ren, and the rest of the Ekaterina Tributes.

"And where were you?" Julia asks in a rather annoyed tone.

"The elevator broke down, I had to fix it" I say plainly. I can tell Julia is amazed that I fixed the elevator by her gaping mouth. But I just sit down and eat.

That night Molly walks into my room.

"We've changed our angles, you don't have to be in love with William any more, now it's just Leah and Daniel, we're going to hope Daniel gets accepted into the group from Lucian and Tomas" Molly explains and leaves the room as quietly as she came in.

_June 5__th__, 93__rd__ Cahill year: Training Day 1_

"_Training day" _I think to myself as I sit up from the soft bed. My feet touch the hard wooden floor and I'm surprised to find that it's heated. A black shirt with the Ekaterina symbol on the back is lying on the trunk at the bottom of my bed next to a pair of black leggings. I put these on and find there rather soft and pliable, they move with my body.

Back in the kitchen breakfast is already laid out and I dig into a bowl of oatmeal with sugar and berries on top of it alongside a glass of orange juice.

"Today is your first day of training, be perfect, and don't show off to Lucian or Tomas, except for Daniel, get them to want for you to be an ally for them. Okay" Ren says and we all move towards the elevator and go down together in silence.

"Welcome, now you will have two days to learn skills that will help you survive, there are combat areas but don't forget about the survival stations, they're just as important. You cannot fight the other tributes, don't worry you'll have plenty of time for that when the games start, now begin" The official says and we all disperse.

I notice as I walk over to the edible plants station that Lucian and Tomas tributes all run over to the swords, archery, throwing knifes, and spears. I don't know how they do it but they seem to be perfect at it hitting the target every single time.

I start looking over the book one page at a time taking two seconds to look at each page. After two minutes I have committed to memory the entire book, all 60 pages of it.

I start working at the electronic test where we take out all the poisonous plants. One by one the inedible plants disappear and only the good ones remain. I keep referring to my mental book flipping through imaginary pages in my mind before pressing one button.

I begin to get better, needing to refer to my imaginary book less and less until I'm acing the test every time.

"Great job, are you familiar with Herbology?" The trainer asks.

"No" I respond with a little smirk and leave him with his mouth hanging open.

I find William over by the knot station and join him. The trainer happy to see that he has another pupil to teach shows me a simple snare that will catch small game like squirrels and possums.

While practicing a fishers knot I look over to see Dan practicing with a spear. He lands the target almost every time catching the attention of the tributes from Tomas and Lucian.

I start practicing my climbing skills even though I'm fairly good at it. From above all the tributes I can hear everything.

"I think we should call ourselves something, you know, something that no one can forget, what we'll call ourselves" Max Alexander one of the tributes from Tomas suggests.

"What about gladiators?" Blair suggests

"Warrior's?" Michael suggests.

"What about Careers?" Ryan asks

"Perfect!" Ana shouts

"We'll call ourselves the Careers!" Max says loudly enough that everyone can hear.

"So our alliance is Ryan, Michael, Blair, Max, Madison, Hannah, Kevin and I" Ana says

"I think we should add that boy from Ekaterina, look at him go, plus we need a brain" Kevin proposes

"Ya, he is pretty good" Ryan adds

"Fine, we'll take him in but he's the first to die when it gets down to us" Max says.

"Deal" Everyone says and Max walks over to Dan to confront him.

"We like you skill, would you like to join us" Max asks Daniel who's practicing throwing more spears.

"Uh" Dan says uncertainly

"We'll offer protection for the games" Blair adds

"Okay…yes, I'll join you"

"Good, we're calling ourselves the Careers" Max says "and from now on you train with us, and don't talk to any of your other nerd friends, we can't seem weak"

"Okay" Dan says with a sigh and walks off with them. I continue climbing around on the ropes hanging from the ceiling. I stop over the kids from Madrigal acing the edible plants test on their first try. The tributes from Janus are all huddling around the camouflage section, even though most of them look like rocks or trees.

I practice most of my survival skills for the rest of the days before collapsing on my bed at night and falling instantly to sleep.

_June 6__th__ 93__rd__ Cahill year: Training day 2 _

I wake up groggy and stumble out of my room and almost fall asleep during breakfast, but after having a delicious cup of hot chocolate I feel wide awake and feel perky, bright and cheery, until I remember why I'm here and go back to my usual innocent look.

In the training room they have a large board with all the tributes name's, branch, picture, and ratio for winning. I find my name and notice I'm only a 1 in 62 chance of winning. That's more than one of the girls from Madrigal, but I'm still in 25th place.

I work with a bow and arrow but I miss the target every time barely able to keep it steady and I almost hit a peacekeeper in the foot.

I see some of the careers snickering but I still try more weapons to see which one is my best. I can barely pick up a spear, the axe is a lost cause, and throwing knifes fail to impact the target and land a few feet away from me.

The careers are now openly laughing and I grab the sling-shot and some of the pebbles that come with it and hit the target every time. This makes them quiet.

I'm working on the monkey bars when William walks up and motions me to come over to him. I finish the set before walking towards him.

"Follow me Laura" William says moving behind a large block. "I want you to win, you should go home, I don't care if I go back, I want you to go home, because…..because" He struggles for words but quickly presses his lips to my cheek and runs away.

I stand virtually stunned, my fingers slowly moving up to touch the spot on my cheek where his lips touched.

I go through the rest of the day in a daze, even though I remember every aspect of the day. Even how many times Blair stroked Max's muscles. (17 by the way)

That night I couldn't sleep, all I could think about was William, I could still feel the spot on my cheek and I could still hear his words echo in the back of my mind. How can I let him die now?

_June 7__th__, 93__rd__ Cahill year: Individual training sessions_

I still haven't decided what I'm going to show the game makers, so I think I'm going to wing it. We have to get up fairly early to get ready for the individual sessions and I pull my hair into fox ears and stretch out a bit as we wait in the long line.

"Daniel Cordon" The electronic voice says and the metal door opens letting him enter.

15 minutes later he comes back out a smile plastered on his face, I bet he assumes he did pretty well.

I'm starting to get antsy as William comes back out looking as if he's about to cry and Leah enters. _"I'm next" _I think to myself. Time can't seem to go any slower than it is and the minutes drag on like hours until finally Leah comes back out.

I enter slowly and try to look strong as the Gamemakers come into view. They all have drinks in their hands and are feasting on a buffet of different foods, most of them I probably can't pronounce, and that's saying something.

I look up to them until all of them are watching.

"Laura White" I say strongly and look up to them as they mark something on their tablet looking electronic devices.

I look around the now familiar training room and walk over to the sling-shots. I pick it up and grab a handful of the pebbles. These ones are different and are coated in what looks like gun powder. Taking aim I send one flying and when it hits, it explodes in a shower of sparks leaving a dark black mark. I shoot all of the pebbles I have in my hand before grabbing another handful and climbing up the ropes towards the ceiling the slingshot between my teeth.

I hang upside down and shoot the pebbles hitting the bulls-eye every time which now just looks like a dark black smudge. Deciding I'm finished I walk towards the front of the room and the gamemakers looking blank and unimpressed dismiss me.

I run out of the room crying and I cry throughout the elevator ride back to our room. Running into my room I cry until William comes in, and sits next to me giving me a little hug.

"Thank you, for what you gave me in the training room" I say as he kisses my cheek again. "I never knew you liked me until Molly pointed it out, and I just realized, I like you too" And with that I kiss him full on the lips.

"I think I might like you too" William says smiling as I break the kiss.

**This is my first real romance, so how did you like it; I told you there would be surprising feelings and events. How did you like it? R&R. Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 clues or the Hunger Games. **


	9. Training score and Interview's

**Thank you Starlinglover! You are amazing, and my only reviewer, besides some guest, thank you guest. Here is the next chapter! Read and Review**

_**June 7**__**th**__**, 93**__**rd**__** Cahill Year: Training scores revealed**_

I'm extremely nervous about the training scores, Dan seems pretty confident about his, Leah, William and I are all nervous.

We turn on the T.V. and I see Caesar Flightman, the popular capitol T.V. host with his trademark green hair and million dollar smile.

"Welcome citizens of Cahill, now it is time for the first annual Hunger Games training scores. Now our gamemakers have evaluated each of our 20 tributes in an individual session where they showed their best skills. They are rated on a scale of 1-12, 1 being the worst, and let's begin with Tomas." Caesar announces.

A snap-shot of the tributes faces and their score flashes across the screen. It starts with Tomas and runs through all the tributes.

**Training Scores**

**Tomas**

Hannah Wyoming- 8

Max Alexander-11

"_Wow, how did he get such a high score, he's going to be some real competition"_

Madison Kons- 9

Michael Freed-10

**Lucian**

Blair Lee- 11

"_Again, I think these are going to be the hardest to beat here"_

Kevin Rowl- 10

Ana Ness- 9

Ryan Dayne- 9

Finally Ekaterina comes by and I can feel and see the tension build in the room

**Ekaterina**

**Leah Noble- 6 **

I didn't realize that she was holding her breath until I heard her release it in a heavy sigh of relief.

**Daniel Corndon-10**

We all cheer for him, surprised, and Dan's face looks almost scary with the proud smug that's on it. Caesar looks surprised too. I know my names next, and I squeeze William's hand as tight as I can, most likely stopping the blood flow.

**Laura White**-8

"_An eight, I actually got an eight, I can't believe it!" _William hugs me and secretly brushes his lips against my cheek in a little fake kiss, invisible too everyone else. But now William squeezes my hand in nervous anticipation.

**William Loggman-8**

"_An eight too, we actually might get somewhere in these games" _I think excitedly and I hug William this time even though no kiss is exchanged this time

**Janus**

**Kara Swift**-4

**Jacob Kit-6**

**Lina Bone-6**

**Harry Jean-7**

I don't have any thought on the Janus except that there just more tributes in the games.

**Madrigal**

**Mia Treed- 2 **

This is the lowest score so far, that I've seen and I'm virtually surprised.

**David Smith-4**

I guess all Madrigal tributes get low scores.

**Daisy Hoon-10**

Based on all the other Madrigal scores I'm very startled by her score.

**Marco West- 6**

The training scores end and Caesar wishes us a happy Hunger Games and the anthem of Cahill plays before the screen goes blank.

"Great job everyone, you did amazing" Molly says grabbing onto Leah's hand and squeezing it. Leah got the worst score in Ekaterina and I can imagine how she would feel.

"Well everyone" Julia says her voice still full of delight and anticipation for the Hunger Games "I'd suggest you'd all get some rest, the interviews are tomorrow"

We all reluctantly get up at Julia's suggestion and head to our rooms.

Hali looks like a kid on Christmas day with a whole bunch of presents to open. His famous smiles burns its way into my mind as he holds out a floppy sparkly purple dress with a big bow in the back and draped sleeves, "This is your interview costume" He says parading the dress around the room for me to see. "I had to discuss it with Molly beforehand though, to make sure it matched your angle in the games" He hands the dress to me and turns around so I can try it on. Once I've donned the dress I feel really stupid but really pretty at the same time. He looks delighted at the outcome and makes me twirl for him before he sends me to hair and makeup.

"Oh, I just love what Hali did with you" Flavia exclaims pulling another chunk of my red hair out.

"Me too, oh look here's that bow that you were looking for" Apollo grins as he curls my hair and pulls in expertly into a half-up half-down style and ties the bow that matches my dress into my hair.

They've paired the dress with some black flats and added some blush to my cheeks to make them look rosy.

"Perfect" Hali says "Good luck tonight, and remember that attitude I saw the day of the chariot parade never existed, but that intelligence did" He explains before hugging me. "I hope you win Laura, you deserve to, I can't say this enough but good luck" He finishes. Flavia and Apollo are crying now, and all I can think of is that their mascara is running down the sides of the cheeks. Oh well they'll find out soon enough.

William and I hold hands as we walk down the long hallway and find our place in line.

"Good luck" William whispers in my ear

"You too" I whisper back, and for a second I thought we were going to kiss, but with all these camera's around it wouldn't be a good idea.

We watch the T.V. that hangs up against the wall and watch Caesar give a big opening speech drawing thousands of capitol accented cheers, which sound more like screaming banshees.

Each tribute has three minutes to give the capitol a sense of who they are, and Caesar makes each tribute someone to remember, laughing at funny jokes, giving them a new catchphrase, there's something to remember about each one, and that's what scares me. What if he can bring out my secrets, embarrass me in front of the crowds, what would happen if. I keep trying to tell myself to stop thinking about that and focus on the interviews.

Max is going for fierce and strong, Blair was probably easy to give a strategy to, with her gorgeous looks and strong attitude she's supposed to be sexy. Hannah seems a little off balance as she stumbles onto the stage in a red dress, and Madison is going for cute but dangerous. The line continues to shorten and then Leah's up. Her hair left hanging down but has small splashes of color lining some small braids. She admits she was disappointed with her training score, but is determined not to let it bother her too much. Daniel is going for the same approach as some of the Careers, naming all of his strengths and staying cool under the camera.

But then I realize in fear that it is my turn.

"Hello Caesar" I say in the sweetest way possible, almost skipping across the stage to sit in the white bubble chair.

"Hello Laura, don't you look fine tonight" He says

"Why thank you, I thought it was a bit much myself when Hilo, my designer, described it to me, before he said it was going to be purple!" I say trying not to stumble on my words

"Well that's just swell, so tell me what did you think of your training score?"

"I was super excited that I got an eight, I didn't even think it was possible for me"

"So I suppose you were pretty happy when we revealed your score?"

"Oh yes I was" The crowd cheers.

"Now tell me, what were your thoughts at the reaping?"

"I was super nervous; I didn't want to be picked, the night before to calm my nerves I was doing my math homework!" I exclaimed.

"So you like math?"

"I love school in general; I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up"

"So what is going to be your strategy in these games?"

"Well, I wouldn't be a very good strategist if I told you" The crowd laughs and cheers again.

"Come on you can tell me"

"Nope"

"Can you just whisper it in my ear?"

"Oh fine" I say and whisper my strategy in his ear

"Oh really!...Nah, you're not going to do that…..I would have never guessed"

"There I told you!" I say giggling, the crowd goes wild with laughter.

"Now since we're almost out of time, I have one last question to ask you" Caesar says building anticipation "Peacekeepers and trainers reported seeing William, the other Ekaterina tribute, pull you aside and he gave you something can you tell us what it was?" I can feel my face going red, and I try to keep the memories of his kiss from my mind to keep from revealing what happened in the training room.

"Uh…..he gave me a….token, that's it a token, I forgot to bring one and he made one while on the train" I say but I can tell he's not convinced.

"I smell a lie" Caesar smiles and leans in to get me to spill my secret, but thank goodness the timer goes off and Caesar frowns before standing up holding my hand and screaming "Laura White from Ekaterina!" More cheers than I've heard so far during these past three minutes are heard and I skip off the stage waving.

"You did great Laura, but I want to talk about what William gave you later" Molly says sweeping me off my feet and embracing me in a hug.

"Great job now I've got to go and try my luck at this game" William says and runs toward the stage before walking on.

Caesar asks him multiple questions about the training score, the reaping, and his tribute costume, but one stands out from the others.

"Since Laura wouldn't tell me what you gave her in the training room, will you?" he asks. William's face goes beet red and he shakes his head "Why won't these tributes from Ekaterina cooperate?" Caesar asks the crowd and they all shake their heads.

"Fine!" William says "I'll tell you, but only you Caesar and you have to promise to keep it a secret, do you promise?"

"I promise" he says while holding his hand up oath fashion.

"Wait never mind" William jokes, taking a bow. The audience laughs and Caesar pretends to curse before saying goodbye to William and sending him off stage.

"Great job" I whisper and we head back to our room to watch the rest of the interviews, and wash the make-up from our faces.

"William thanks for not telling" I whisper in his ear as Caesar finishes up the interviews.

"You too" and he plucks a little kiss on my cheek, before hugging me.

**Disclaimer, I do not own THG or T39C's**


	10. The Countdown and Bloodbath

**Okay this is it, the games are finally starting *really dramatic music starts play* Let the first annual Hunger Games Begin! **

"Don't worry, you're going to be fine" William says in a comforting voice the next morning over breakfast when I can't stop shaking. "You totally nailed that interview"

"Which reminds me" Molly adds "What exactly did William give you?"

"Uhh…he…..um….ya…." I say stumbling over words

"What about you William, what did you give her?" Molly asks, now directing her attention to an astonished William.

"Uh….."

"Now don't tell me you're not going to tell me anything" Molly says a slight smirk creeping onto her face which tells us we're not going to get out of this one as easily, or even at all.

"You tell her Laura, she's your mentor" William says

"Well…..could you guys stop that!?" I shout at Leah, Daniel, and Ren who are all leaning in, eager to hear what went on during the training.

"Yes, why don't you guys leave" Molly suggests and they all get up ruefully, Ren taking his plate with him. I giggle a little bit, but Molly now looks serious. But serious doesn't exactly work with her and it more looks like a pouty face. "Now continue Laura" Molly says

"Uh….." Molly was staring daggers at me and I couldn't take it any more "A kiss" I say quietly "He gave me a kiss, I never meant for it to happen-"

"I never meant for your relationship to be real" Molly says, her face growing solemn and soft "I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault, it's mine" William interrupts "She would have never fallen for me if I hadn't given that to her…." He trails off.

"It's fine, but now I'm worried, only one of you can make it through the games, if at all, but…hmm, I'm sorry but it's time to go now, we can't let you be late for the games or I think Julia might pull off her hair, not the wig though." Molly laughs a bit before leaving the table.

"William, only one of us can win, if the careers don't get us first" I say quietly

"I told you at the training center, you should win, I don't care if I go home, I don't have anything to go home too. You have a little sister" He says holding my shaking hand.

"But-"

"No" He interrupts "You will win, I promise"

"You can't promise things that are left to the odds" I say, and walk towards my room.

"Don't worry Laura" Hali says slipping the tribute jacket on my shoulders. "You'll be fine; I don't know how the gamemakers are going to play this, since it's the first one, but good luck"

"Thank you, for everything" I say quietly and hug him.

"Here" He say's gently pulling my token out of his pocket and pulling the cord over my head so that the dragon hangs just above my shirt. "Your token"

"Thank you" I whisper and feel my hands rise up to touch the smooth wood.

"30 seconds" The electronic voice says. I can feel myself start shaking, I tell myself not to panic, and that I'll be fine. But it doesn't work. "20 seconds"

"Shh, you'll be fine" Hali says grabbing my shoulders. "I can't bet, but I'd vote for you, I love you"

"I love you too"

"10 seconds" I walk over to the metal tube and stand on the plate. I can tell it activates by weight and as the tube starts going up all I can see are stone, rocks, and dirt. Then as I reach the top, I feel cold wind blow against my hair which is in fox ears, and it's extremely bright. As my eyes adjust I look around my surroundings.

I'm in a large courtyard, and the giant golden cornucopia sits on top of the crest of Cahill, the giant white C.

There's plenty of goodies all spaced around the cornucopia, from blankets, to bright orange backpacks, medical kits, food, and weapons, tons of them. I see a loaf of bread almost right next to me, and about 5 yards in a backpack and a slingshot with a pouch of pebbles.

Surrounding this courtyard I see five different sections. Right behind me there's a building with a small Lucian crest on the top of it, right in front of me a collection of what looks like old fashioned made out of mud and built into a mountain side, next to the settlement there is a forest full of trees, and to my right there is a long white sandy beach with rolling blue waves, and the last section is what looks like a maze of hedges with the Ekaterina crest on top of the gate to the maze.

"17…16…15…14…13…12…11" I hear a voice say over the arena, counting down the seconds to when the games begin. "10…9…8…7…6…5…" I find the dragon hanging around my neck and hold onto it, hoping it will give me strength. "4…3….2…" This is it "1…Let the first annual Hunger Games begin!" The voice says and I swoop down towards the bread and sprint over to the backpack and the slingshot, a spear barely missing my head.

I feel as if I'll do better in a forest atmosphere and run towards the wall of trees. Not daring to look for William, in fear that I might see him laying on the ground a pool of blood coming from his head. So I keep running….and running…..and running….until I no longer can hear the screams of children dying.

After about an hour or so of running away, I climb a tree and listen for the cannons that they told us would signify how many died in the bloodbath.

"Boom!" one "Boom!" two "Boom!" three "Boom" four "Boom" five "Boom" six "Boom" seven "Boom!" eight "Boom" nine. The cannons finish and I lean up in my tree hoping that none of those cannons were Williams.

**Sorry, it's sort of short. R&R. Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or the 39 clues. **


	11. Day one

**Sorry for taking so long, I've been going through a lot of family problems lately and my mom wanted me to work on my actual story more. School has been crazy along with dance. So updates might be a little slow. **

**Disclaimer**

**Laura: 1kat2kit does not own the Hunger Games**

**William: *Interrupting* neither does she own the 39 clues. **

**Molly: All scenes depicted in this story are works of pure fan-fiction**

**Ren: *Also interrupting* any relation to anyone either living or dead is completely coincidental. **

**Leah: The 39 clues and the Hunger Games belong to Scholastic and Suzanne Collins**

**Daniel: Why didn't I get to do the disclaimer?**

**Oh ya, and instead of 9 people dying on the first day it's going to be 8. **

I fall asleep and dream of everyone that I would lose in these games.

Dad running the bakery, no more me to help him figure out our profit, Sophie never having an older sister to lead her to right or wrong, Mom not having someone to help her do her work, my friends, the funny side of the glue that holds us all together. But then the dream shifts, I suddenly become Sophie watching the T.V. When I look more closely I see myself being killed brutally by a Career.

I can't let Sophie see that.

I wake up by falling out of the tree. Landing hard on the ground covered with wet leaves. I notice that I'm fairly wet too, it must have rained. I start climbing back up my tree, but this time I tie myself to the branch, not wanting to fall off again.

Once I'm settled again I start going though supplies, bread, a sling-shot, some rope, a sleeping bag, a small bag of dried fruit, some crackers, an empty canteen, a basic first aid kit, a pair of night vision goggles, a bottle of iodine, and the strangest thing is a flashlight that has strange green light coming out of it when I turn it on. I'm sure the Gamemakers have something in store for us where that strange flashlight will be important.

I nibble on one of my crackers and watch the sun finish its flight across the sky. By the time its dusk, and the sky is a bluish amber color I jump down from my tree ready to explore the area.

The forest is strangely quiet, not even the sound of mockingjays flying around in the canopy or the scuttle of squirrels on the crunchy leaves. The trees cast their shadows on the patchwork of the leaves, and then there's me, the small little girl from Ekaterina wandering around the arena, I should have brought my sling-shot.

I find a small patch of berries and I begin examining them. They have a red shell, and when you crack them open they have a clear center that reminds me of what an egg might look like.

I flip through the pages of my mental Herbology book until I find the page with this berry, or by the name of it, a nut. A Lychee nut, they are edible. I pick a bunch of them and carry them all back to my tree and dump the load in the bag with the dried fruit.

I jump down again and start looking for more Lychee nuts; I find another towering bush, even though most of them aren't ready to be picked. I still am able to get about 10 of them though, but I pick a few of the green ones in hope that they would ripen in time.

I climb back up the tree and settle back in, it's dark now, and I tie myself back in, leaning against the hard trunk.

I wake up to a familiar sound, the anthem of Cahill. I glance up into the dark blue murky sky to see the dead tributes.

Hannah Wyoming, Tomas.

Ryan Ness, Lucian.

Leah Noble, Ekaterina.

My breath catches in my throat and sobs are followed. I try to keep them as quiet as I can but I can't help it.

Kara Swift,

Jacob Kit,

And Harry Jean from Janus

David Smith

And Marco West from Madrigal

The anthem plays again and the seal of Cahill disappears from the sky and I am left with only my sobs to keep my company.

I stop crying and am left with just tear stains on my cheeks and a soggy shirt. But that's when I heard the song. At first I thought it was just the wind, whistling through the trees, but then I started to hear the lyrics.

I couldn't make actual words out of the sounds, but they had to have been from a Janus, the voice floated in the air like a ribbon in the wind. It was a female voice and I reflected back on who had died today. The only girl from Janus that was left was a 13 year old like me named Lina Bone.

Then I saw her, she looked actually a lot like me. If you didn't know better you'd think we were fraternal twin sisters.

"Hello" I whispered down to her, she was leaning against the trunk of the tree, clearly exhausted and probably crying. She was the only one of her Branch left.

"Hello" I whispered a bit louder. "Lina, is that you?" I ask. She perks up at the sound of her name and looks around.

"Where are you?" She asks standing up, she has a backpack and a nasty gash on her left arm.

"Above you" I say. I dangle my foot to make it more obvious where I am.

"What branch are you from?" She asks

"Ekaterina" I respond as she starts climbing up

"I'm from Janus, but I suppose you already knew that" She says giggling a bit.

"Ya I did, my names Laura, I'm sorry about the rest of your district"

"Well it is the Hunger Games; I just didn't think I would be the only one left. I thought for sure that Harry would've made it"

"I thought for sure Leah would have, but I guess we're both wrong. Come on it's time to sleep. That backpack of yours must've come with a sleeping bag"

"Ya, I'll sleep on this branch and you guy can sleep on this one" I point to the two branches on opposite ends of the tree, just in case she ends up getting any ideas in the middle of the night.

She climbs up to that branch with ease and settles in; using the rope that also came in her bag to tie herself on.

We both are lying down now staring up at the shadowy sky that is barely visible through the tree tops.

"You know what" She says

"What?" I ask getting sleepy

"I had this crazy idea a minute ago"

"I specialize in crazy ideas" I respond

"Would you like to be my ally?"

"I told you I specialize in crazy ideas and that is a crazy one, so yes."

"Goodnight…Ally"

"Goodnight" I whisper back and fall asleep.

**So, how'd you like it? Guess what I now have two reviewer's! Thank you! Oh ya and I forgot to mention that the other reason I wasn't posting was because I was reading Shatterproof and facing emotional trauma from the mission. **

**R&R! **

**Live, Love, and take over the world. **


	12. Day One (Continued)

**Everyone lets help prove Sinead's innocence! **

**Disclaimer **

**Daniel: 1kat2kit does not own the Hunger Games.**

**Laura: If she did Gale and Katniss would have gone into the games and fell in love.**

**William: Neither does 1kat2kit own the 39 clues.**

**Leah: If she did Sinead would not be single.**

**Let's shake things up a bit with a little change of perspective. And just to let you guys know. It will always be in Laura's point of view unless otherwise noted. **

**Daniel's POV (Bloodbath and 1****st**** day)**

I hear the gong, loud and grand and I sprint off my plate grabbing for the nearest weapon I can find which happens to be a 4 foot spear. I look around for a target and see Leah and Laura heading opposite directions.

I look around for William and see he's about to be killed by Harry, a Janus boy with a dark mop of brown hair. I throw my spear and it lands right in the center of his back. He cringes and drops his weapon before falling to the ground.

William scurries away as I reclaim my spear and stay with the Careers.

By the end of the bloodbath I have ended up with three deaths at the mercy of my spear and I think the Careers have officially accepted me. Two of the Careers didn't make it through though. Hannah and Ryan, they were killed by a stupid Madrigal boy and girl, Blair ended up killing the boy when he was trying to escape after hiding behind some supplies that were in the Cornucopia but the girl, Daisy I think her name is eluded Blair's knifes.

"Daniel, come on we're going Tribute hunting. I know there has got to be more of them that didn't feel like running far enough away!" Max calls, his blonde hair reflecting afternoon sunlight.

"Which part of the arena?" I ask grabbing a clean spear from our stash of weapons.

"Definitely those buildings over there" He points to the mud brick houses.

"Why those?" Ana questions

"Well," I start, "more of the tributes were running towards them and it seems like a better place to hide since there are more buildings, and potentially it could be more confusing and hard for someone to find them"

"Good point Daniel, but could you bring the Nerdy talk down, your branches tributes are already annoying so don't be an Ekaterina, be a Career." Max says with a sharp snap in his voice and my face falls a bit before I reclaim my usual stance.

"Let's go then!" Blair says excitedly her throwing knifes stashed in her belt, "Oh I can't wait to spill some blood!"

Her words feel so icy and cold, like they aren't her own, so void of emotion. Who could take so much joy in hunting down a kid to kill?

"Dan, come on. We've got to go hunting before it gets to dark." Michael says already several yards away and I run quickly to catch up with them.

The sky looks like someone spilled buckets full of red, orange, and pink paint all over the sky, the colorful streaks looking beautiful against the pale blue canvas.

"Come on, we're almost there. Some of the tributes should be around here" Max says, with a sinister grin of delight on his face. He's already claimed the first tribute.

"Hey guys shhh!" I say quietly and grab Michael's shoulder stopping him. Everyone stops and I stare down at the ground where in the chalky dust the imprint of a small footprint can be seen.

"Is that-?" Blair begins before I shush her.

"Quiet!" I whisper interrupting her. "There are two tributes over that way, this one," I point to a smaller footprint that by the deepness of the print the tribute doesn't weigh much, "Is most likely a girl, probably from Madrigal or Janus, and this one is probably a boy" I explain and before I can go into an explanation of how I know this Max runs off following the tracks, his spear poised in his hand, ready to throw.

We all follow him and just seconds after he runs into one of the buildings we hear the familiar chuckle of Max, and then a boy scream. One more tribute down.

"Daniel, the tracks for the girl lead over here, why don't you take this kill" Max says and Blair's face falls.

"But I wanted this kill" she complains and stomps her foot down on the ground in protest sending a column of dust into the air around her.

"Um, okay" I say and walk over to where Max is pointing spear in hand I take a deep breath and follow the tracks through a maze of doors. I don't want to kill anyone, but I know I have to if I don't the other Careers will probably kill me and kill the person I'm supposed to kill in a even more painful way that what I would do. I decide as I'm walking through the buildings that I'll kill the girl as quickly as possible, with as little of pain as possible.

That's when the tracks stop, I look up and feel my heart fill with dread and remorse.

"Daniel! It's you!" Leah says, I can see the joy in her face as she runs up to hug me and I can almost hear Caesars voice talking to Claudius Templesmith.

"_Oh, this should get interesting" Caesar would say _

"_I wonder what thoughts are going through Daniels head right now" Claudius said_

"_What is he going to do? Kill his fellow tribute from Ekaterina or be killed himself by the Careers?"_

"_Lets' wait and see" _

Leah backs up and asks "What's wrong Daniel, aren't you happy to see me?" She asks curious, just like every Ekaterina.

I can feel the tears running from my eyes; I can't do it, not to Leah.

"Dan, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" She see's my spear and backs away. "No, Daniel this isn't you! Daniel!" She cries

"I have to" I whisper, choking on my words. I can't kill Leah, we went to school together, we grew up together.

"No you don't Daniel!" She's sobbing.

"I'm so so so sorry Leah. You don't know how much I don't want to do this"

"Then don't" She whispers

"Then they'll kill you and me"

"So this is about you then" She says backing away.

"No Leah! It's not! I don't want them to hurt you! They'll laugh at you, make you suffer! They'll chop you up bit by bit-"

"Stop!"

"Leah, I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I don't know."

I throw the spear, and hear it land in her heart. I lean down over where she has fallen and whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry; I just can't let them hurt you"

"Take care of Atticus, and keep Laura and William safe" She murmurs before her eyes go lifeless and dull, and her hand that was clutching my arm falls to the ground. But I can't cry. I want to cry, but I couldn't, I could never cry, never again and now my job was to protect William and Laura, help them live. I wipe my eyes and close hers. Goodbye Leah Noble, I'm sorry.

I walk out after a minute hoping my eyes are no longer red and puffy.

"What took you so long?" Ana asks as she's leaning against a rock drawing pictures in the dirt with a twig.

"She was a fighter" I explain

"Who was it?" Blair asks she's throwing knifes into an empty backpack, each one finding its target.

"Leah, the girl from my district" I say, working hard to keep the tears back.

"And you killed her. Didn't think you had it in you Dan, to kill someone from your own district. I think you've proved yourself" Max says.

"Neither did I" I say and follow them as they search for more tributes, which there are none to be found.

That night during the anthem when Leah's face shows up I whisper my own little prayer for her, so quietly no one, not even the mosquito's would be able to hear me, and yet the only thing I can think of is finding Laura and William and keeping them safe from these ruthless Career monsters.

I will find them.

**Now you understand why I chose Daniel for this chapter, I really wanted to show Daniel killing Leah. Even though I felt like I really shortened it up way too much. But it's really important that all you readers see Daniel killing someone that he knew and was close to. I think it also changed his personality quite a bit. So the same as usual R&R! And to any of you Washingtonians who watched the Apple Cup GOOOOO COUGARS!**


	13. Author Note

Author Note:

Hey readers! I know it's been awhile since I updated but I'd like to let you guys know that I am a very committed dancer and recently for the past two months I've been at Nutcracker and Competition team rehearsals a lot because we had performances coming up and our first competition is in early February. So I'd just like to let you know that updates should come a little more frequently. I hope you understand so here's a little blurb from the capitol so that I'm not breaking any rules.

Capitol POV

"Octo! I am so surprised that he killed Leah! And on the first day too!" The purple haired Thalia squeaks while painting her nails a bright shade of orange that had just been released from her favorite brand "Capitol Nail Couture"

"It was a very interesting turn in the games! The District 5 tribute surprise me, I thought they were all know it all freaks!" Octo says.

"I know! Laura is quite a little surprise, getting such a high score in training! Now she's allying with that tiny girl from Janus!" Thalia exclaims! Waving her hands in the air while trying to dry her nail polish.

"And William! I'm so excited for tomorrow!" Octo says, before leaving the room.

Ya, that wasn't much of a chapter…..


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